


Hope and New Beginnings

by MandoKain



Series: Aliit [14]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Love Confessions, Marriage Proposal, Other, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24137440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandoKain/pseuds/MandoKain
Summary: Cain makes a surprise suggestion to their partner, and it goes better than expected.
Relationships: Cain/Xhona
Series: Aliit [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1450651
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Hope and New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This is for @innocent-until-proven-geeky who commented on every single fic in this series oh my gods you are a gift

_The first new year's eve after O66, less than two months since Empire Day_

* * *

Cain and Xhona lay back against the beanbags together in their room. In the main room of the ship, the clones were holding their own celebrations, which were no doubt raucous and silly, with adult supervision provided by Blink and drink most likely procured from some less-than-official source like a vod's still. The couple would join them later, but had announced their intentions to enjoy some time on their own first. The holovid was amusing but low energy, and Cain was musing. As it came towards the end, the main characters established a family, and Cain's mind suddenly crystallised around one idea. They sat bolt upright, the film forgotten.

"We should have a kid."

Xhona blinked, then sat up too. "What, now?"

"Not this instant, but yes, now. Tomorrow, we can talk to the medics about it."

It wasn't like they hadn't talked about it. They had discussed family and marriage and children at length, deciding that Xhona, like the clones, would use the Toqema clan name, and so would their kids. They wanted at least one of their children to be theirs by blood, adopting at least one more. Hell, they'd even figured out the technicalities and logistics with the resident medical professionals and each other. They'd had no timeline, but they knew what they wanted, what they were committed to: each other, family, clan. But the last few months... The galaxy had been turned on its head. They were just starting to settle, make new plans, start back up again, become a proper unit. And there was another thing, Xhona thought.

"Most people get married, first," Xhona pointed out. _Or at least engaged._

"Marry me, then."

Xhona sputtered and stared at them. "Seriously?"

"Why not?" Cain took her hands and squeezed, gazing at her earnestly. "It's New Year's Eve, Xho."

"Cain... You want to bring a child into the galaxy, now?"

"Yes."

"With everything...?" She trailed off, and Cain's expression of earnest determination faltered for a moment.

"Xhona," they replied quietly, glancing down at their clasped hands, "we are as safe as it is possible to be. I want a kid with you. I want to bring our kid into this galaxy, this universe, and there's no truer gesture of hope. Groundies are getting married and having kids in the galaxy as it is now. Why should we be any different?" Cain squeezed her hand again.

"Cain." And Xhona hesitated.

"We want this. And if we give up, if we put our lives on hold, then they win. We deserve to live too. It's New Year's. It's the first real new beginning since. What better time?" 

Xhona met their gaze and had to swallow the butterflies that rose in her throat. Gods, she loved them so much. She _did_ want this. Even if she was nervous, her heart soared at the idea of it.

"Do you really mean it?" she murmured. "You want to do this, right now?"

"We don't need a big wedding. We didn't have one planned, anyway," Cain shrugged. "If we want we can still have one, after."

That was true. "Well... it's just..."

"Are you-" Cain mistook her trailed off words. "Are you not sure about it?" The little hitch in their voice was too much, and Xhona leaned in and kissed them deeply. Cain leaned into her, sliding their arms around her and holding her close as they tilted up to her kiss. Xhona drew back eventually and murmured,

"I'm more sure that I want to marry you and raise a family together than I have been of anything in years," she promised, smiling. "But if we get married tonight, it kind of ruins the surprise proposal I had planned." Cain gasped and flushed.

"Oh! Um. If you want to surprise me, we can wait to-"

"No," Xhona interrupted. "If you want to still have a proposal, it can be for a wedding, rather than a marriage." She paused and took a deep breath, drawing back. More solemnly she asked, "you really want to talk to the medics tomorrow?" She had to be sure. It was unexpected, but they had been planning for a while. Xhona was ready, but she needed to know that Cain was, too.

Cain took a deep breath too, and nodded slowly. "I want to, if you do. We deserve to be happy too. And we won't be alone in this, either."

"Oh, definitely not," Xhona chuckled. "Careen's already promised me 'pregnancy-safe caf,' as soon as I even mentioned the idea." Cain laughed softly.

"Sounds like him."

Xhona smiled and kissed their cheek. "If you're sure... If you mean it," she whispered, "if you mean tomorrow, not in a few years but now, then yes. We'll talk to the medics." 

Cain beamed and kissed her again, though their grin made it a little harder. Xhona giggled, giddiness running through her like a flow of gold. She ran a few fingers down Cain's lek, and they purred.

"Did you mean it?" she asked after a moment.

"Mean what?"

"Do you really want to get married tonight? Right now?"

Cain sat back to look at her. "You're not actually ticked off about the proposal thing, are you?"

Xhona laughed and shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Then... Yes. Who do we need for it? We need someone with authority to officiate, don't we?" Cain started to stand, and Xhona stopped them. Her partner gave her a quizzical look.

"Mandalorian wedding vows don't need an officiant. We can do it, just us, right here, right now."

Cain swallowed, suddenly breathless as they sat slowly back down. "You..."

"You've got the pad. Pull them up."

"Really?" they asked again, and she almost laughed.

"Cain, it might not be a wedding in keeping with either of our heritage," Xhona grinned, "but if we're going to be living with and essentially becoming Mandalorians by exposure, especially if we want to raise our kids Mando, we might as well start it off the right way. Impromptu, just the two of us, on New Year's Eve. Hope and new beginnings, like you said, right?"

They needed no more convincing. Cain kissed her cheek before quickly pulling up the wedding vows. It was slightly too easily accessed, and Xhona raised an eyebrow. They blushed. "I was looking at different styles of vows," they admitted. "For inspiration."

"You ridiculous romantic."

"What? I like to be prepared."

Xhona kissed their cheek. "Adorable. So." She took a deep breath. "Ready?"

Cain took her hand. "Ready. Should we say them together, or...?"

"You proposed," Xhona teased, her light tone attempting to hide the fact that her heart was in her throat, though she was sure Cain could sense her anticipation nonetheless. "You start." 

Cain swallowed and nodded, their own excitement and anticipation getting the best of them for a brief moment before they spoke again.

"Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar’tome, mhi me’dinui an, mhi ba’juri verde," they murmured. "We are one whether we are together or apart, we will share everything and we will raise our children as warriors." The basic translation was, as usual, a little more flowery than the pragmatism of the pure Mando'a, but it was beautiful, and the words were true no matter the language. The vows were written in present tense, and they hung between the two, a reminder that marriage was ongoing and constantly renewed, a continuing promise they were both ready to make and remake. Cain nodded to Xhona. "Your turn."

Xhona swallowed. Her heart fluttered as she looked at Cain, repeating the words back, feeling each one like a stone building on the one before it, as if the vows were two halves of a bridge. As she finished speaking, Cain drew her in close, and Xhona let herself melt into the kiss, the capstone of this promise, the final step of their bridge to each other. They were warm and alive and everything felt like it was sparking and they were married, they were _married_. Her heart pounded, and she wasn't sure if it was Cain's pulse or her own that she could feel against their lips, or maybe it was both. Two hearts beating in time, her own with her freykaa's.

Cain had described the living Force to her before. The way it thrummed beneath their fingertips, the way they felt connected through it. This was as close as Xhona had ever felt to knowing what the Force felt like for herself, kissing Cain—kissing her spouse. The thrill of it ran through her, and didn't stop even after they parted, panting, to catch their breath.

"I love you," Cain whispered. "So much. So kriffing much."

"I love you," Xhona whispered back. She caught a glimpse of the time on Cain's pad, off to the side, and smiled even more brightly. "Happy new year, beloved."

Cain gave a breathless laugh. "Happy new year, beloved." They glanced over at the screen. "Oh, dear. We missed the end."

Their wife (it made them both giddy to think that) waved a hand in dismissal. "We can rewind it later. Should we go tell the others?" Xhona asked. "It feels rude to keep it a secret, even if we do have a proper wedding sometime later on. Especially if we intend to go to the medics tomorrow."

"Yeah, we'll tell them," Cain nodded seriously. "But later. In a little while."

"Why later?"

"I'm not done kissing you yet," they grinned slyly.

"Oh, well," Xhona grinned back. "In that case, I'm happy with later." 

**Author's Note:**

> 'Freykaa' is Ryl for beloved. 
> 
> Yeah, their first kid, Varynn, is a science baby. Because Star Wars can do some weird shit, and I said so. 
> 
> From this point on I think we might be getting some stuff with the kids in this series as well, which is very exciting! We might finally meet Smoke Squad! 
> 
> Thank you so much to @innocent-until-proven-geeky for inspiring me to add a new chapter. Your comments were fantastic, this is for you.


End file.
